Emma M. (Carey) Davies, 82, of Crane died on July 6. 
She was born in Crane on Feb. 13, 1927, to Henry and Anna Carey.
Davies was a late-life baby with three older brothers. She grew up independent and strong, roaming the hills near Venator on her horse, Coney. Back in those days, the Paiute Indians still migrated by horseback into the hills for the summer, and one year, Davies and Coney fell in with the tribe as they traveled past the ranch. She camped and fished with them for three days until her dad came and made her go home. Her family lived next to the south fork of the Malheur River, and Davies and her brother, Jerry, would climb onto broken railroad ties that floated by in the spring, riding them down the river.
Davies best friend was Donna Carey Tackman, the daughter of her much older brother. They were aunt and niece, but only one year apart in age. When they were 7 and 8 years old, Tackman would ride the train from Crane to Duneen Crossing, below Venator, where Davies would be waiting for her. The two girls, along with her friend’s suitcase, would ride on Coney, back to the ranch. The shallow river crossing the adults used was too far south and a waste of time for the girls, so they swam the horse across the river to get home.
Davies went to high school in Crane, finishing at the age of 16. Her parents sold the ranch and moved to Stayton, where she enrolled at the University of Portland College of Nursing, in the nurse cadet program, just as World War II was ending. She and Tackman went to Ocean Lake for the summer (now Lincoln City) and worked as salad makers at the Dorchester House.
Davies did hands-on training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Portland and told many stories about the big ships that docked in Portland, and how the student nurses learned to patch up the sailors when they got in fights while on shore leave. She had fond memories of the priests, nuns and nurses who taught her, and collected newspaper clippings about them through the years.
She didn’t finish nursing school because one night at a Poison Creek Grange Hall dance, she met Jack Davies. They were married on his 31st birthday in 1946. She was 19. Their married life started on a ranch near Princeton, and the next year, their first daughter was born. They soon had three girls and Davies’ nephews came to live there, too.
About 1955, Davies and her family moved to a ranch in Diamond. Her duties expanded to taking care of 2,000 head of sheep, cooking for hay crews and getting kids to and from school. A fourth daughter was born, and soon Davies became a 4-H leader. Every summer she loaded up her kids, Tackman’s kids and the neighbor kids and drove back and forth to Frenchglen for summer Bible school.
Davies always had a big garden, sewed all of her daughter’s clothing, and could fix a meal for an unexpectedly large group from the barest cupboards. Day or night, Davies always asked guests if they had eaten and then proceeded to feed them, regardless of the answer.
Although Davies and her husband primarily raised sheep, they leased a herd of longhorns one time. She mastered milking some of the longhorn cows, learning through experience to jump back the length of their horns when they jerked their heads at a fly.
She made butter and sold cream in big metal cans that she left by the mailbox for customers. She was well-known for her sour cream chocolate cakes and big, fluffy biscuits.
Davies knew how to shoot a rifle and ride a horse. She learned to cut and wrap a beef, kill and pluck chickens and make a brine for venison jerky. She loved to go fishing but never ate the stuff. She made sure her kids got to sporting events and plays, awards banquets, spelling bees and dance recitals. While living in Diamond, she drove all the way to Crane and back each week so her daughters could have ballet and tap lessons.
Davies had three life-long friends with whom she shared many experiences through the years — Donna Carey Tackman, Mary Griffin Collins and Dovie Payne Jess. They were young country girls raising babies and working like men, and they made each other laugh.
The Davies family moved to Crane in the early 1960s, and she became active on the elementary school board, school budget board and served on voting precinct committees. She continued to sew clothes, raise a garden, feed the horses and take care of other people’s kids. She was the original foster mother, before they even had that term. She was an inspiration to her daughter, Susan, who has had over 40 foster kids herself.
When the Crane dormitory burned down in 1967, Davies and her family had moved to a ranch near Princeton. It became home to a number of high school students who, otherwise, could not have continued to attend school at Crane. She had a house full of six or seven girls, and Lloyd Mulholland, the only boy who was brave enough to live there, too. She drove everyone to and from school and events, over 50 miles round trip.
From 1969-1974, Davies was the matron at the Crane dormitory. It was her first out-of-the-home job since she had married. She took care of 70 or 80 kids all at once as the matron. Five days a week during the school year she rousted them out of bed, made sure their chores were done, disciplined swiftly when necessary and joined in water balloon fights as needed.
After her husband died, Davies came full circle back to the role of cowgirl, roaming the hills of Harney County. Her last horse was named Coney, just like her first pony. Her most faithful companions were a dog named Bob and a cat named George.
When she became to ill to live alone, her daughter, Linda and granddaughter, Lacey, took turns living with her so that she could stay in her own home. Her friend, Dovie, provided respite care. She then moved to Ashley Manor, where the many bedrooms and big dining table full of people brought back memories of life in the Crane dormitory. She would do bed checks at night to make sure everyone was in their beds and their lights out.
Pall bearers for Davies’ funeral were her grandsons and grandsons-in-law. Honorary bearers were her three life-long friends, and the men who helped her gather cattle, brand calves, hay the fields, feed the cows, admired her and brought joy to her life, as well as drank their share of her very strong coffee.
Davies is survived by her children, Cathy Ann Miller of Crane, Dorman Miller of Crane, Linda Gage and husband, Leon of Jordan Valley, Joan Davies of Burns, and Susan Miller and husband, John of Crane; grandchildren, James Miller, Traci Robertson and husband, John, Amy Smith and husband, Mat, Mark Gage and wife, Ellie, Lacey Bayes and husband, Jeff, Wes Miller, Mick Miller and wife, Kelsie, Krystin Smith and husband, Russ, Chance Miller, Seth Bodas and Matt Miller; great-grandchildren, Alan, Emma and Halle Robertson, Zach and Zoey Smith, Grant and Chesney Bayes, Skye and Colton Miller and Dylanne and Harper Smith; and numerous nieces, nephews and good friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack; an infant daughter; brothers, Forrest, Bug and Jerry; and her parents.
Contributions in Davies memory may be made to the Crane Union High School scholarship fund.
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